Contributor: The Nerd
Every now and then we take on ambitious projects, like that time in October 2021 when we interviewed the top two ranked contenders in every XC class and gender - and then threw in a third-ranked athlete to write 17 interviews in less than two weeks.
Well, we did it again. Working with Patrick Grosserode, the owner and lead coach at the Lincoln-based Trackville training center, we decided to write a preview of every individual T&F event for every Nebraska class. Cut out the relays and that's 14 events, boys and girls, four classes, so we had to chase down something like 1,047 lists of returning medalists. For most people, this would be difficult. However, for a bunch of nerds who volunteer their spare time to cover track and field, this task was... still really difficult. We couldn't have done it without Patrick's help, and he led the way on the field events and hurdles.
We'll update this post as we drop the articles. Here's the order in which we've published them - click on the event to go to the article:
If you didn't know this by now, it's time to face the facts. Every season, we write more articles (and by gosh, they're long articles) about distance running and T&F than any media outlet in Nebraska. We post more free pictures than any media outlet in Nebraska. We are bigger running nerds than any media outlet in Nebraska. So the question you have to ask yourself, and this is really a life-changing question, is this: "Have I shared the Prep Running Nerd website and social media accounts with all of the people in my life that I care about? Have I told my athletic director, my teammates and the T&F moms (the Nerd's best demographic, BTW) that the Nerd is a must-follow?"
If you're a closet track nerd and like to write (or have a really good camera to take high-quality pics), reach out to us like Patrick did, and we'll see if we can collaborate with you. You'll get paid as much as the Nerd staff - um, that would be nothing - but budding sportswriters will be able to reach our nearly 3,000 followers on Twitter and Facebook. It's not as prestigious as writing for the school newspaper, but how many running articles will the school editor print before she tells you to start focusing on your school's community garden?
Did you find any errors in this article or our previews? We know there are likely a few, so shoot us a DM on Twitter or Facebook, or e-mail us at jayslagle@hotmail.com. In addition, we know we're missing quite a few college commitments at our list at https://www.preprunningnerd.com/post/class-of-2022-commitment-list, so let us know if we've missed someone.
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Originally written for and posted at www.preprunningnerd.com by Patrick Grosserode and Jay Slagle.
Patrick Grosserode is the owner of Trackville, an indoor training facility devoted to developing youth, high school and collegiate athletes. He's also the Director of the Lincoln Community Track Club, the jump coach at Lincoln Pius X, and a USATF level 2 jump and sprint/hurdle coach. Lean more about Trackville at https://thetrackville.com/.
Jay Slagle has none of those credentials. He’s kind of over-the-hill, was never that good at running in high school, and never considered competing in college. However, he loves running and has a very patient wife, and she lets him spend way too much time covering Nebraska high school T&F and cross country.
Did you love reading about Nebraska high school running? Visit www.preprunningnerd.com for rankings, results, photos, long-form articles, frequent updates our blog page, and a bunch of other cool stuff that only running nerds would think to do. If you want to see meet photos or just need to kill a few hours on social media, follow @PrepRunningNerd on Twitter, Instagram and TikTok, or on Facebook at www.facebook.com/preprunningnerd.
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